James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

Sabres Hire Lindy Ruff to Be New Head Coach

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Justin Giampietro | Last updated 4/22/24

On April 22, 2024, the Buffalo Sabres hired a familiar face to fill their head coaching vacany for the 2024-25 season. Lindy Ruff , who leads the franchise in wins as a head coach with 571 from 1997-2013, came back to the place where he had the most success. He had stints as the bench boss with the Dallas Stars and recently the New Jersey Devils, being relieved of his position in New Jersey midway through the 2023-24 season.

A DONE DEAL

We have hired Lindy Ruff as our head coach!https://t.co/3OSlX1Z9lt | #LetsGoBuffalo pic.twitter.com/7FuvvIJzpx
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) April 22, 2024

With Don Granato going 122-125-26 during his tenure with the Sabres and missing the playoffs every single time, he was fired after the 2023-24 season ended. Ruff, a winner of the Jack Adams Award in 2005-06, has quite the history with the Sabres.

That history was not the reason he was hired, though. “Lindy is the right person for the job now and any history with our organization and community is simply an added bonus,” said general manager Kevyn Adams of the move.

The Sabres were the NHL’s youngest team in 2023-24, while the Devils were the fourth-youngest club in 2022-23. Ruff took those Devils from 63 points in 2021-22 to 112 points and a playoff series win the following campaign, showcasing his ability to get the most out of young players.

Unless the Sabres make any major changes to their lineup, they will likely be one of the younger teams in the league once again. The upside with Ruff is that he helped create a massive turnaround and help his youngssters mature, something that the Sabres are in desperate need of. If he is able to recreate some of his success, he could stick around in Buffalo for a while just like he did the first time.